Category: Body

1. Strength and definition. When you work your thighs in a barre class, you target that muscle group from all angles. Three thigh exercises will work to fatigue the front, inner, and outer thighs, strengthening the muscles from joint to joint. The same goes for your butt, abs, arms, and back. By strengthening each muscle group thoroughly, you are not only creating amazing definition, you are also strengthening muscles that are often underused and underdeveloped.

2. Endurance. Each barre class is known for its use of isometric contractions and small isotonic movements. In an isometric contraction, you tighten or contract the muscle without changing its length. Think plank position or those poses where you hold completely still as your legs start to quiver and shake. These Barrcontractions utilize slow-twitch muscle fibers that can increase stamina and improve your endurance.

3. Flexibility. You don’t need to be flexible to practice barre, but the amount of stretching in each class can help improve your overall range of motion and reduce your risk of injury. Tension and tightness in your muscles and the tendons around them can lead to back pain and poor posture, and can make everyday tasks like bending down to tie your shoes more difficult. Stretching out your muscles will help relieve stress and allow you to move through your day with a little more ease.

4. Posture. Core muscles are engaged throughout the entire class, and they can be used for the primary focus of an exercise or for stability as you perform a move that targets your thighs or butt. The most common issue that clients come in with is back pain that usually stems from weak core muscles and hours spent sitting at the computer. As you strengthen your core, you will notice that you can sit and stand taller and your lower back will take less stress and tension throughout the day.

5. Mind-body connection. Barre classes challenge you to not only go through the motions of the workout but to focus your thoughts on each and every tiny muscle you are working.

With summer (hopefully!) right around the corner, it’s time to remember a few easy skin tips that will help keep your skin healthy and glowing all summer long!

Hydration: Just because we tend to sweat more during the summer doesn’t mean that our skin is hydrated. Be sure to keep up with an appropriate moisturizer for your skin. The other part of hydration is keeping your body hydrated, as this will in turn help keep your skin radiant and glowing. Drinking plenty of water also helps purge impurities from your skin and body, which is very important in skin and overall health.

Exfoliation: With summer sweat come clogged pores! Our skin naturally turns over every twenty-eight to thirty days, and so exfoliation year-round is important. However, in the summer we tend to sweat more, which can cause excess buildup of oil, makeup, and other debris in our pores. Using a gentle scrub or a product like our Sakura Clarify Pads with 7 percent mixture of salicylic and glycolic acids help to flush your pores of unwanted debris while exfoliating the top layers of your skin to help rid your skin of excess pigment and blemishes, and leaves you with a gorgeous glow. Treatments like the HydraFacial, Fire & Ice, or traditional relaxing facials are excellent—and summertime safe!—ways to help maintain that exfoliated glow. Chemical peels are not recommended during summer months as clients cannot sweat during the peel process and must keep their skin protected from the sun. In our limited summer months there are many other treatments that will still allow us to enjoy our (finally!) beautiful, warm weather while still giving us excellent results!

Sunscreen: Sunscreen is important to use throughout the year, even in winter months, as we are constantly bombarded with harmful rays causing damage to our skin. Sunscreen will not only help prevent sunburn, which as we all know is no fun, but it will also protect you from the damage the sun causes to our skin. An excellent way to prevent premature aging of the skin and excessive pigmentation is to use sunscreen anytime you are going to be outdoors. Driving or running errands still exposes us to these harmful rays. We carry two Naturopathica organic sunscreens. Our Lavender SPF 30 is a hydrating cream with micronized zinc oxide to help guard the skin from UVA/UVB damage. Lavender calms irritation and soothes the senses while Macadamia Seed Oil conditions the skin. The Naturopathica Lavender SPF 17 is a nourishing moisturizer, also with micronized zinc oxide to guard from UVA/UVB, Turmeric Root, which helps prevent sun spots, and the calming Lavender. Both provide enhanced daily broad-spectrum protection from sun damage for healthier, younger-looking skin.

I also love using our Revisions Intellishade, a tinted moisturizer with an SPF 45. I use this as my makeup but also get the benefit of sun protection daily. For me this has made a huge difference on my skin as I am very prone to pigmentation. Not all makeup SPFs are created the same! Just because your makeup has an SPF in it does not mean you are getting adequate coverage. Do your research! Using a proper makeup or tinted SPF moisturizer is an easy way to apply daily protection without thinking twice.

Other excellent serums to protect your skin are a Vitamin C and/or a Green Tea Polyphenol (GTP) product. Vitamin C and GTP protect our skin from free radicals (sun, chemicals, pollution, etc.) that break down our cells and cause damage and premature aging. When applied, Vitamin C acts much like a seatbelt. It’s constantly protecting our skin from these free radicals. GTP acts much like an airbag, which instantly destroys free radicals when they land on our skin before they have time to do damage! Together these two products are an excellent addition to your skin routine. Not only will they help to prevent future damage, they will help repair damage that has already been done to the skin.

Summer can be harsh on our skin, but with a few simple “skin rules,” you can enjoy the gorgeous weather without making your skin suffer the consequences!

I am the head trainer at Burn Boot Camp – Eau Claire, which if you don’t already know is a gym where 99% of our camps are female only! In my time here, I have learned that strong, hard working women seem to value the little sleep they get. 🙂 Aside from getting in your workout, sending the kids off to school, running to work, somehow putting food on the table, tucking your kid into bed for “the last time”, your day is full of time for naps, I am sure!

I am ready to let y’all in on a little secret about how to fall asleep quicker, stay asleep longer, and overall, sleep better. Exercise. Really, it can be that simple!

Exercise helps the release of chemicals in your body such as serotonin, and dopamine which are some of your “feel good” chemicals. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that assists in your sleep cycle. This chemical helps to influence your mood, and high levels can assist in decreasing anxiety and stress. One way to elevate this is through consistent exercise! Aside from directly helping you sleep, it also is a destressor which allows you to wind down after a long day and get to sleep quicker, rather than lying awake thinking about everything!

Dopamine is another chemical that is released during exercise. People commonly refer to this chemical as the one that makes you happy. Again, increased levels of dopamine help to decrease stress, and give you the feeling of a “runners high”.

Even though this is an article relating to how exercise affects sleep, it is still important to know that one of the first changes you will notice, when you begin exercising is having more energy! Exercise does make you tired, and will help wear you out to sleep better at night, but when in a regular exercise routine, those people have more energy throughout the day, and have an easier time getting up and out of bed in the morning!

Sleep is important in your day to day life, and is especially important when in a regular exercise routine. The time that your body is asleep, is the time that your body uses to recover! This can often be overlooked, when we are a society driven by success, and we don’t typically give ourselves 6-8 hours a night for quality sleep. A suggestion I usually make is set an alarm when it is time for you to go to bed, and stick to it!

There are so many various benefits to sleep, and we need to unlock ways to get more rest, maybe, as it turns out, we have had the answer right in front of us the whole time. So next time someone tells you they go to bed at 8:30, you should follow their lead!

Did you know you can get a facial here in Eau Claire in which all the ingredients are organic? In fact Sakura Skin Spa offers two organic facial product lines. The skin spa was founded in 2013 with the goal of providing “highly educated and passionate skin professionals to help clients achieve their desired skin results safely and effectively.”

Sarah Green, owner, spa director, and licensed aesthetician, explains why she chose to use organic products. “Organic products were always something I wanted to bring in from the beginning. My brother-in-law, Dr. Aaron Arfstrom of Apex Chiropractic, has been a huge influence on my knowledge of how important it is to use products that are good for us and don’t cause more harm.”

Green describes the two main benefits of using organic products: 1) “Many clients who are very sensitive can have reactions to skin care products that have a lot of chemical additives. Organic products give them an option for quality skin care.” 2) “It’s also great for women who are pregnant or nursing and want to use only pure products. They don’t have to sacrifice their skin when going organic or natural.”

Many of this company’s products are certified by Ecocert, which is one of the oldest independent organic certification groups. The review process to receive the Ecocert seal of approval includes scrutiny of sourcing, manufacturing, and packaging. Ecocert looks for products derived from renewable resources that are produced in environmentally friendly ways. Their seal also requires at least 50 percent use of natural ingredients.

Naturopathica seeks to source from local farmers, promotes recycling with all product containers, and is a majority woman-owned company. They test all products for allergy and skin sensitivity, do not use animal testing, and their products are made in the United States. For a full list of what they do not use in their products, go to www.naturopathica.com/about_us/our_philosophy.

Sakura Skin Spa offers several choices of organic facials using the Naturopathica products, including the Pure Results Facial, the Vitamin C15 Brightening Facial, the Soothe and Restore Facial, and even a Men’s Rebalancing Facial. Green says, “Our

Green says, “Our Naturopathica line is purely organic, and their ingredients smell phenomenal as well! They have been some of our most popular facials since we introduced the line in 2014.”

FarmHouse Fresh Naturals

This company has its own farm in Texas and uses some products from other local farms to provide from 90 to 99.6 percent naturally derived ingredients. They are paraben, phthalate, and sulfate free, as well as “cruelty-free,” meaning no animal testing is used for their products. In fact, the company works to rescue all kinds of animals—dogs, bunnies, horses, turtles, and donkeys—at their ranch. Almost all (99 percent) of their products are vegan and gluten free.

FarmHouse Fresh has a broad selection of what they call “Farm to Spa Treatments,” seeking to provide the freshest product possible with reduced irritations, less redness, and “lessened signs of aging.”

“I would say our FarmHouse Fresh natural facials have really caught our clients’ attention!” Green says. “All of their products smell almost too good to be true! It’s been really fun adding in their awesome products to the spa. With product names like Pumpkin Dirt Mud Mask and Sundae Best Chocolate Mask, which smell as amazing as they sound, who could resist?”

For more information visit them at 4210 Southtowne Drive, Eau Claire, go to www.sakuraskinspa.com, or call 715-514-3548.

Pure Fitness 4 You is owned and managed by Brenda Jane Crass, wife and mother of two. “Owning a fitness studio is an amazing opportunity for me to share my love of health and fitness with others and to be a role model,” she says. Why did she decide to start this business? “I wanted to have classes in the area that all fitness levels would be able to do,” she explains. “I love helping people, seeing their progress, and knowing I’m making a difference.” All classes at Pure Fitness 4 You are for all fitness levels as the instructors will always show modifications, regular, and advanced moves, but

Why did she decide to start this business? “I wanted to have classes in the area that all fitness levels would be able to do,” she explains. “I love helping people, seeing their progress, and knowing I’m making a difference.” All classes at Pure Fitness 4 You are for all fitness levels as the instructors will always show modifications, regular, and advanced moves, but Crass adds, “If you ever come to class and have questions about moves, just ask as there are always ways to make the moves work for each individual ability level.”

Crass seeks to make Pure Fitness 4 You stand out in the community. “Pure Fitness 4 You offers unique to-the-area classes and really goes all out with the personal touch of letting our members know we are here! Once you’ve stepped into the doors at Pure Fitness 4 You, you become family!” Crass notes. One example of that uniqueness is the POUND class, which is a group fitness class that is inspired by drumming. It lets you be a part of the music as you are getting a

One example of that uniqueness is the POUND class, which is a group fitness class that is inspired by drumming. It lets you be a part of the music as you are getting a head to-toe workout. Crass assures, “It’s low impact but high intensity, so you’ll burn calories having a blast!” It’s new to the Chippewa Valley and is taking a lot of places, like New York City, by storm. So far there has been a lot of interest in POUND, and Crass says her regulars are addicted to it. She cautions not to worry about an inability to keep to the rhythm, explaining that the instructor keeps you on track and you soon fall in love with being a part of the music and being able to “pound out the day.” Her enthusiasm for this class couldn’t be any greater. “POUND lets you be a rock star!” Exemplifying the welcoming spirit of Pure Fitness 4 You,

She cautions not to worry about an inability to keep to the rhythm, explaining that the instructor keeps you on track and you soon fall in love with being a part of the music and being able to “pound out the day.”

Her enthusiasm for this class couldn’t be any greater. “POUND lets you be a rock star!”

Exemplifying the welcoming spirit of Pure Fitness 4 You, Crass exclaims, “If you are looking for an amazing atmosphere to work out in, Pure Fitness 4 You is it! We make you a part of a family, and everyone will have your back each step of the way.”